Love that will not let me go.

This week I had the joy of catching up with a friend of past days. His brother, who was well known and been in pastoral ministry for many decades, having suffered through a somewhat prolonged period of depression, which included a loss of clarity about his salvation and God's acceptance of him, had died recently.My friend related how his brother's last days, were a long oppressive darkness.

Yet one day on visiting, only to find his brother 'in his right mind', at peace and 'back to his old self'. Upon inquiring what had happened, his brother told him he had a visitation from some angels, two of which had assured him of God's continued love for Him, and interestingly another one who tried to convince him that the other two were lying! "What do you make of it?" his brother asked, to which my friend replied along the lines of  'you wouldn't be the first to have such a visitation.'

A few days later my friend visited again only to find his brother again engulfed in darkness.
"What happened?"
"Oh the doctor told me I was hallucinating - it was the drugs."
I'd like to talk to that doctor one day.

That aside however, this is a common scenario that many families go through, though thankfully not too many doctors are as foolish as that one.  As well as the situation itself, families, and maybe more so Christian families, struggle themselves with the question of how does God see my loved one who now seems to have lost, or even given up, their faith?

As I reflected on my friends situation I remembered a familiar story (apocryphal or otherwise I don't know)  which tells of a husband tending his wife who has lost her memory. She recognises no-one, including him. Friends ask him "why do you bother?- she doesn't even know who you are." to which he replies "But I know who she is."

If a husband is capable of that towards his wife, I am confident God must have that same attitude towards his people who have through illness or misfortune 'forgotten' who He is.

He never forgets who we are. Numerous verses from the Bible come to mind.

".....whoever comes to me I will never drive away." John 6:37

God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

"Love that will not let me go" indeed!   The promise is not vain. (1)

Our God knows who we are.


(1) http://www.igracemusic.com/hymnbook/hymns/o08.html